(This QuickTime Trailer can be downloaded)

JACK NICHOLSON, ROB REINER  and MORGAN FREEMAN

For years, movies have almost indisputably occupied the slot as our number-one date-night activity. They have become the standard first-date activity and the comfortable fiftieth-date standby. But the other night, a funny thought struck me. When it comes to the way we incorporate the movies we watch into our lives, at least from a woman’s perspective, they are actually not all that dissimilar from the men we bring along to so many of them. Their previews, publicity, and posters—that first encounter, the flirting, and the phone call. The theater—the first date. And the DVD—the second date and beyond.

Sure, the comparison can only go so far. But after meeting The Bucket List for that first date the other evening, I have to say the feeling I came away with was not all that different than many of the dates I’ve been on. Not a bad way to spend the night, but not an evening I will repeat. If The Bucket List were a man, it would fall under the category of “nice guy,” interesting enough, pleasant enough, but just not enough of anything else to even consider for that second date.

As a person who tends to think about the deeper things in life, I was intrigued by the story behind The Bucket List from the time I heard about it in conjunction with Jack Nicholson’s bald head to the time I finally saw its preview. Two men find out they will soon die. They create a list of things they want to do before they die. And together, in pursuit of that list, they embark on a journey of discovering what life is really about.

It could have been a great story. It could have dealt with some powerful questions about life and death and the meaning and purpose of all that is in between. With Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, it seemed set up for deep thought and good laughs all along the way. But on all counts, it fell short.

Considering the depth of the topics The Bucket List deals with, its story barely scratches the surface. A few brief conversations between Nicholson’s worldly Edward and Freeman’s more spiritual Carter put out several commonly held beliefs about life and death. But as their list pushes them on to the closest race track or the next wonder of the world, each conversation just feels like another item for the filmmakers to quickly check off their list before they go onto the next. Christianity, check. Egyptian mythology, check. Buddhism, check. Time for the characters to explore what those ideas might actually mean? Sorry, got to keep going.

As Edward and Carter get to know each other, they discover that they both have relationships in their lives in need of some sort of reconciliation. Edward hasn’t spoken to his daughter in years. Carter has essentially run away from his wife to come on the trip with Edward. And because it is meant to be a happy movie, both of them come to those reconciliations. But in the same way that the movie glosses over discussions of life’s meaning, it also gives these storylines far less attention and development than they deserve.

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